DRAGONFORCE have announced their tenth studio album. It is self-titled, it lands March 19, 2027 on Napalm Records, and it is the first record to feature the line-up the band spent 2026 rebuilding.
"Dragonforce" was produced by Jens Bogren and recorded across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Sweden. The lead single, "Hunger Of The Beast", arrived today with a live performance video, and it was written to a very specific brief: it had to work for two lead vocalists at once. Alissa White-Gluz became the band's first frontwoman this past spring; Alessio Garavello, a friend and collaborator of the band for twenty-five years, handles the male vocals in place of Marc Hudson, who has stepped back from DRAGONFORCE duties over an ongoing issue with tinnitus. The song is built for the range of both of them.
Co-founder and lead guitarist Herman Li is not selling it modestly. "Every time we begin making another album, we just think, 'Wow — I can't believe we're still doing what we love after all these years,'" he said. "The approach of the tenth album is as important as the first one, or any of the albums, because the way we look at music is we're making a piece of art that's going to be frozen in time." Then the claim: "This is unlike any DRAGONFORCE album you've ever heard, and unlike any metal albums out there. There's just nothing like it, and everyone listening will realize that straight away."
He was also clear about what the band are not chasing. "We're not trying to be commercial. We're not trying to be popular. We're not trying to be famous. We make music because we want to make something that we love to hear and elevate our musicianship to the next level."
White-Gluz, who still fronts ARCH ENEMY, described the sessions as a straightforward pleasure. "I have loved the entire process of making music with DRAGONFORCE. It's great to connect with such elite musicians and work together to really bring out the best of our respective styles. I think this new combo of speed and ferocity is refreshing and exciting. It's going to be so much fun to perform live."
That last part gets tested first. DRAGONFORCE open their "Inhuman Rampage 20th Anniversary Tour" in November, twenty-two North American cities through December with ENSIFERUM and RHAPSODY OF FIRE, playing the 2006 album front to back — including "Cry For Eternity", never performed live — alongside previews of the new record.
DRAGONFORCE is: Alissa White-Gluz (lead vocals), Alessio Garavello (lead vocals), Herman Li (guitar), Sam Totman (guitar), Billy Wilkins (rhythm guitar), Alicia Vigil (bass), Gee Anzalone (drums).